“Western women can come to the rescue of the world”

In an audience that included Nobel peace laureates Mairead Maguire, Jody Williams, and Betty Williams, Irish president Mary Robinson, humanitarian Susan Davis, and filmmaker Abigail Disney, the Dalai Lama made this startling comment.

“The Dalai Lama, like his great friend Archbishop Desmond Tutu, does not mince words when it comes to women. He has said on numerous occasions that he inherited his prodigious compassion from his mother. He believes that women, with their nurturing instinct, are naturally more compassionate. He wants to see more female ministers of defence, and is delighted that Spain has one. If wars are a fact of life, then it would be better if women were in charge, according to him, since they are more likely to empathize with those who suffer during conflicts.”